Tiki Bars
Trader Vic's - Singapore
Singapore, Singapore (Closed)
This Trader Vic's location opened in the New Otani Hotel Singapore in 1984. It closed sometime around 2002.
The New Otani was in one of the two twin 25-storey towers used as hotel and service apartments, the other being the Liang Court Regency.
Entering the millennium, the New Otani was then sold and became Accor Hotels, and later renamed Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay.
Novotel was closed permanently in 2021 as a result of the Covid Pandemic.
Tiki Village Theater & Restaurant
Haapiti, Moorea-Maiao, French Polynesia
Opened in 1988.
Tiki Village is a tourist attraction on the west side of Moorea, the small island directly to the west of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
Here visitors can see Tahitian traditions and dances in a utopian tropical setting and dine on roast pig and other delicacies at their restaurant.
Kelbo's - La Brea - Los Angeles
Los Angeles (La Brea), California, United States (Closed)
This location on Fairfax was the second of two, built in 1950, the first being built at Pico in 1947. Two men, Thomas Kelley and Jack Bouck, combined the first syllables of their last names and invented Kelbo’s, a small chain of Hawaiian barbecues whose food was not all that Hawaiian: burgers, barbecue meat sandwiches and some miscellaneous seafood. The concession to the islands was that every plate was garnished with a piece of pineapple and the fried shrimp was coated with coconut. They also served very sweet (but very good) barbecued ribs and had a menu of tropical drinks, some of which came flaming or served in a skull mug. Eli Hedley was the main designer and he was also responsible for the interior of other tropical-themed restaurants like Don the Beachcomber. Kelbo’s felt like a place that had been decorated in the thirties or forties and then no one changed anything. As mentioned, there were two Kelbo’s. This one was on Fairfax across from CBS Television City in La Brea, and was later torn down. It was a popular hangout for crew members who worked across the street at CBS Television City in the fifties and sixties. The building that housed the other was over on Pico at Exposition. After that location was shuttered, the building was converted into a bikini bar called Fantasy Island for a time. Much of the Kelbo’s advertising art was done by Bob Hale who otherwise turned up on Los Angeles TV from time to time as a cartooning weatherman. (He was also active in Seattle where he owned a popular hobby shop that bore his name.) Hale’s drawings of a fat Hawaiian guy in native garb could be seen on Kelbo’s napkins and menus, and both of the Kelbo's outlets had huge Bob Hale murals on the outside.
Tiki Tiki Yokohama Public Beer House
Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Japan (Closed)
Tiki Tiki Yokohama was a combination of Polynesian themed restaurant and Public Beer House, with multiple dining rooms and floor shows.
The emphasis on Beer House was more recent, starting @ 2017 or so.
Closed November 6th, 2022 according to their Instagram.
There was a sister location, Tiki Tiki Shinjuku which did not have the Beer House emphasis and had much more Polynesian decor.
Oceanic Arts
Whittier, California, United States (Closed)
Oceanic Arts was a major contributor to tiki culture since its opening on June 25th, 1956, when it was opened by LeRoy Schmaltz and Bob Van Oosting.
Bob and LeRoy have provided carvings, decorations, signage, light fixtures, and all the outfitting needed for a tiki location to nearly all of the major spots, including Disney. Oceanic Arts served as a Home Depot of sorts for the tikiphile.
The store was closed for good on November 24th, 2021.
Bob and LeRoy went out on a triumphant note by announcing the publication of a book chronicling their much beloved business on the same day. This book, authored by Jordan Reichek and published by Peekaboo Gallery, was issued in a regular or slipcover edition. This was accompanied by 2 rounds of auctions and accompanying auction books. Together, these books give a very thorough overview of the work produced by Oceanic Arts.
Honolulu Restaurant - Westborough
Westborough, Massachusetts, United States (Closed)
The Honolulu, located on Route 9 in Westborough, was the Eli Witney Steakhouse until 1970 when it was sold to Hing Wah Inc. of Brookline and was remodeled and renamed Honolulu. The restaurant featured American, Chinese and Polynesian dishes.
The Honolulu had an unusual logo tiki with a pineapple for a head, with sort of bull horns. The tiki shows up on swizzles and tiki mugs from the restaurant.
Honolulu survived until the early 2000s, but now it is closed. The location has become Bertucci's Brick Oven Restaurant.
NOTE: There was a sister location on Route 1 in Norwood, also called the Honolulu Restaurant. Both locations are often printed on the bottom of vintage mugs. This second location appears to have been started around 1974 and closed some time before 2007.
Politiki
Washington, District of Columbia, United States (Closed)
Politiki took a unique spin on tiki, featuring a line of tiki mugs in the likenesses of United States presidents: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Nixon, Carter and Reagan (with a cameo by Nancy on the back, surrounded by astrological symbols). When it opened in 1993, there were three floors of tiki, but Politiki existed in its original form for only about 4 years. Afterwards, some decor remained but gradually disappeared with each new bar make-over.
Around 1999, the space became home to the Pennsylvania Avenue Pub and much of the tiki decor was removed.
For a time it existed only as the basement in the space's next incarnation as the Pour House, and in late 2004, almost all the tiki was gone.
The Pour House still displayed two of the presidential tiki masks on their exterior sign (Lincoln & FDR -- styled just like the earlier tiki mugs) but the bar closed in April 2014.
The next bar in succession was Stanton & Greene, which opened in 2015 and closed in 2018. They removed the two outside tiki masks in their remodel, which were the last vestiges of Politiki.
*However, for Politiki's 20th Anniversary (May 2018), the original owners brought it back as a pop-up in a different space (at Barrel on Capitol Hill) with new president-inspired tiki mugs (Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Steve Bannon).
Trader Vic's - Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States (Closed)
This Trader Vic's was inside the Statler Hilton (now the Capital Hilton). It operated from 1961 until 1995.
Among its many decorations were two large moai carvings with top-knots outside the front entrance that were created by Barney West.
This Trader Vic's was a major center for politicians for many years; president Richard Nixon reportedly loved to drink Navy Grogs here.
Trader Vic's - at The International Marketplace - Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1967.
This was the International Market Place Trader Vic's. There was another Trader Vic's in Hawaii prior to this, on Ward Avenue in Honolulu.
Cabana Joe's
Los Angeles, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1995, this was a store in Venice owned by Joe O’Brien, a surfer who followed his passion for the ocean and incorporated it into his interior design, collecting vintage items that brought that tropical beach feel. Joe's wares included reproduced vintage fabrics as well as authentic beach furniture from a time gone by.
It is now home to Pretties, a lingerie shop.
The Polynesian Room at the Waldorf Hotel
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Polynesian Room (now called The Tiki Bar) is located in the Waldorf Hotel.
The hotel was established in 1947 and is one of the most renowned tiki-themed hotels in North America.
For much of the '90s and '00s, it was available only as a rental hall for private events. The Waldorf came under new ownership in late 2010, and the new owners have re-emphasized the Polynesian Pop angle. The Polynesian Room was renovated and restored, and a new era-appropriate analog sound system was installed. It reopened to the public in early November 2010.
It is made up of three rooms, the Polynesian Room (now the Tiki Bar), Tahitian Room (now the Tabu Room), and Menehune Room (now the Hideaway). The Polynesian Room has a large collection of black velvet paintings by Edgar Leeteg, collected by one of the original owners of the hotel, Bob Mills. One of these, The Tahitian Drummer, was used on much of their early advertising, especially on their swizzle sticks.
Trader Vic's - Vancouver B.C.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Closed)
Opened in 1961.
This Trader Vic's was located in the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina, in an A-frame building designed by architect Reno Negrin.
It closed in 1996.
After closing, the Bayshore sold the building to David Whiffin of Vancouver Island and he had the structure transported there, where it still rests today, at least as of 2020.